Art to save the rhino to exhibit at the National Gallery

The National Art Gallery will host an exhibition dubbed ‘On the Brink’, by two emerging young local visual artists Ndakondjelwa Nghipandulwa and David Indongo, which will officially open on Thursday.

The artists partnered together and applied their skill set to advocate for the conservation and safeguarding of the rhinos.

The duo stated that as human beings, we belong to and with the rest of the vast interwoven that we call nature, through an inescapable network of mutuality.

“Therefore, everything within nature should be respected and worked with instead of against as an injustice anywhere is a treat to justice everywhere,” they added.

In this exhibition Ndako creates striking portraits of the rhinos using nails and thread on rhino board, the nails creates an outline to which he adds depth using wool. These works highlight the strength and resilience of the rhino. While Davido’s work leans towards the empathetic element, portraying images of young rhinos with their parents through his pointillism style, creating an image that is there but not quite there.

The duo met in 2018 at the Tulipamwe international artist’s workshop and found that they had similar goals and belived that together they could make an impact

Research shows that Namibia is home to the largest population of free-roaming rhino in the world, and the world population of black rhino is estimated at 5000, with Namibia’s population accounting for an estimated 40% of that number.

According to recent international reports, rhino horn is valued between N$900,000 and N$1.3 million per kilogram. Therefore at that price, rhino horn is more valuable than gold and platinum and on the black market more than diamonds and cocain. The high value of the rhino horns attracts poaching syndicates, this is quickly leading to the extinction of the rhino.